Tooth-brush.



PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904.

C. HEILRATH.

. TOOTH BRUSH. APPLICIATION FILED JUNE 30. 1903.

NO MODEL.

UNITED STATES Patented. August 2, 1904.

PATENT OF ICE.

TOOTH-BRUSH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 766,247, dated August 2, 1904.

Application filed June 30, 1903. Serial No, 163,788. 1N0 model.)

To (t/Z 'uh/mm z'r' may (o/merit.-

Be it known that 1 (HRIsTTAN HIGILRA'LH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sacramento, in the county of Sacramento and State of California, have invented anew and useful Tooth-Brush, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in tootlibrlislies.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of tooth-ln'ushes and to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive one designed to be carried in the pocket or valise and adapted to be compactly folded to enable it to be conveniently carried in this manner and capable of protecting the bristles of the brush from dustand the pocket or other receptacle from moisture.

A further object of the invention is to provide a brush of this character in which there will be a sutticient ventilation to prevent it from becoming musty.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tooth-brush in which the guard or cover will form a convenient extension of the handle of the brush when the same is in use and in which the means for limiting the opening movennrnt'of the guard or cover may be conveniently employed as a nail-cleaner when the tooth-brush is closed and the bristles thereof concealed and protected.

\l'ith these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details of construction within the scope of the claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tooth-brush constructed in accordance with this invention, the tooth-brush being open. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, the tooth brush being closed. Fig. is a transverse sectional View of the same. Fig. f is a detail view of the hinged end of the shank of the guard or cap,

illustrating the construction of the combined nail-cleaner and stop.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures ot' the drawings.

1 designates a tooth-brush having a short handle 2 and provided with a guard or cap 3, adapted to cover the bristles 4 of the head of the tooth-brush to enable the latter to be conveniently carried in the pocket or in a valisc or other receptacle. The guard or cap which is adapted to protect the bristles from dust and the valise or other receptacle from moisture may be constructed of any suitable material such as metal, celluloid, rubber, and the like-- and itconsists of a top and connecting side and end walls, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The cap or guard which is adapted to protect and shield the bristles, as shown in Fig. 2, [its against the handle of the brush, and in order to prevent the brush from becoming musty and to permit the moisture to evaporate and the brush to dry the guard or cap is provided at the top or outer portion with a series of fine perforations 5, extending entirely around the top or outer portion and adapted to permit the necessary ventilation. The cap or guard, which is oblong to conform to the shape of the brush-head, may be varied in form to suit the brush to which it is to be applied, and it is provided with a shank or stem 6, having a pair of ears '7 near one end to embrace the handle of the-brush at the end thereof. The brush-head illustrated in the accompanying drawings is provided with extended edges, which are beveled, and the sides and outer end of the cap or guard are flared to conform to the configuration of and to iit firmly against the beveled edges of the brushhead. The flared sides and ends of the cap or guard also enable the same to be readily closed over the bristles without injuring the same. The inner end of the cap or guard terminates short of the flared edges of the sides, and the shank or stem lits against the handle of the brush when the latter is folded. The

ears and the handle of the brush are pierced by a suitable pivot or pin 8, and the end 9 of the shank is extended outward beyond the ears and is tapered, as shown, to enable it to be conveniently employed as a finger-nail cleaner.

This extension 9 is also arranged to engage the handle of the brush when the parts are arranged, as shown in Fig. 1, to limit the opening movement of the guard or cap and to enable the shank thereof to form an extension of the short handle of the tooth-brush. By this arrangement a handle of the desired length is provided when the tooth-brush is open and the parts are compactly arranged when the tooth-brush is closed.- The shank of the guard or cap is hinged by the pivot 8 to the end of the handle of the tooth-brush, and the parts are adapted to swing from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that illustrated in Fig. l to open the tooth-brush, and when the tooth-brush is open the shank and the handle may be conveniently grasped by the user.

It Will be seen that the tooth-brush is simple and comparatively inexpensive in con struction, that it is adapted to be conveniently carried in the pocket or in a valise or other receptacle, and that the brush-head is protected from dust and at the same time is prevented from becoming musty. Also it will be clear that the extension 9 of the shank of the guard or cap performs a double function of a stop to limit the opening movement of the guard or cap and anail-cleaner when the guard or cap is closed and the brush-head covered.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by, Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a brush having a handle, of a guard or cap adapted to cover the bristles of the brush, and provided with a shank arranged to fit flat against the handle of the brush, and provided at opposite sides with ears pivoted to the handle, the walls of the said guard or cap being extended beyond the plane of the shank to embrace the head of the brush, and the shank being extended beyond the ears to engage the handle of the brush When the latter is in use, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a brush provided with a head having extended beveled edges, and a guard or cap arranged to cover the bristles of the brush and having flared portions adapted to clear the bristles and arranged to fit the beveled edges of the brush-head, said guard or cap being provided with a shank adapted to fit against the handle'of the brush, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

CHRISTIAN HEILRATH.

W'itnesses:

DEMETER M. BISHOPP, PAUL H. FLETCHER. 

